08 October 2002

Canadian Government Teaching Metadata Coding Doug Salzwedel -- The Information Management Division of the Canadian Government's Treasury Board Secretariat is currently planning a metadata training course for use by government departments. The content and organization of the course will be based in part upon input received from a variety of sources. The objectives of the training course will be to assist metadata trainers in explaining: What metadata is; how and why metadata is used for departments; Canadian government requirements for metadata; how metadata elements are applied to Web resources; The role and use of controlled vocabularies in metadata (including specific examples) Evolving trends and best practices for metadata; How to identify and use various resources (Web sites, metadata experts, etc.) for guidance on metadata implementation. The Canadian government is seeking examples of metadata training plans, courses and other associated metadata training documentation in either English or French.

Paolo's Theme Tool Paulo -- Check out Paulo's Theme Tool and turn out complex templates in Dreamweaver that work in Radio.

Wireless Classroom and Online Learning Lou Hirsch -- Now beginning to break into the mainstream, wireless classroom links will lead to new opportunities for online learning. As I've personally obsered, new learners seek learning in short bursts. But the jury is out on whether the wireless classroom will usher e-books back into the forefront. It's important to note that wireless e-learning suits people who dwell in very dense metropolitan areas, but are unable or reluctant to congregate at a particular place and time just to make courses cost-effective. Combining mobile wireless with Internet capabilities allows efficient delivery of the same course offering to individuals spread all over the globe. There is a viable business model in this form of course architecture.

A Compelling Essay On Why 3G Will Fail Steven Den Beste -- A compelling essay on why 3G will fail. This time, information laced with technical details.

Real-Time Connectivity Is More than Pictures Jeremy Allaire -- Business and the military are trying to get desktops to be real-time in the decision process. Major software vendors need to bring real-time communications capabilities to the enterprise. Macromedia has focused on real-time connectivity too. Jeremy Allaire thinks the world of real-time communications is very immature right now. He knows most part people have natural associations between IM tools, or even web conferencing systems, and real-time. But he believes real-time communicatons involves more. We need to move beyond thinking and talking about how we communicate to talking about how and what we do, what activities we perform in real-time. Communications augments social activities, and those social activities should become the real-focus for real-time application advocates. Talking to a sales person is one thing -- configuring a product with them is another. Getting a question answered about an insurance application is one thing -- jointly populating the form is another. Having a voice conversation with a room designer versus actually designing a room, visually.

Itanium 2 Underperforming on the Market NEW YORK TIMES -- Intel may have overextended its market when producing the Itanium 2, according to Technology Circuits in THe New York Times. Itanium 2 may not be as sure a bet as it looked even a few months ago. The 64-bit Itanium 2 boasts more than 200 million transistors and is designed to deliver top performance.

The Coming Copyright Storm FARCES.com -- The entertainment industry is paying BayTSP, run by former black-hat cracker, Mark Ishikawa, up to US$50,000 per month to determine who is illegally copying protected works on the net. There is a copyright storm brewing.